Clay Hensley Rumors

The Marlins have designated right-hander Clay Hensley for assignment, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Hensley was considered to be a non-tender candidate by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes, given how the righty was going through arbitration for a second time and looked to earn a raise from his $1.4MM salary.

Hensley posted a 5.19 ERA in 37 games (nine of them starts) for Miami last year and also had two stints on the disabled list. As a full-time reliever in 2010, Hensley enjoyed a brilliant season with the Marlins and even got some work closing games. If healthy, Hensley could be a valuable right-handed asset to a team's bullpen, so it's possible another club might put in a claim.

The last-place Marlins won't taste the playoffs in 2012, but they're moving into a new ballpark next year and could spend big this offseason, so things might be different in Miami a year from now. Here's the latest on the Marlins…

Clay Hensley, a non-tender candidate this offseason, told Spencer that he would love to return to Miami in 2012. The right-hander earned $1.4MM in 2011 and will be arbitration eligible for the second time this offseason. He has pitched well recently, though he had two stints on the disabled list and struggled as a starter.

Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.

Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:

The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitterlinks). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick does a nice job profiling the underwhelming market for relievers. The Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Yankees, Rays, Phillies, and Twins could be looking to make an acquisition. A few tidbits…

The Astros "will gladly talk about Brandon Lyon, but aren't so interested in discussing Matt Lindstrom." Lyon is still owed $12.48MM through 2012.

Crasnick finds "the consensus" to be that Mariners closer David Aardsma will be dealt before the deadline. The Tigers have been linked to the hard-throwing righty, whose ERA is up several runs this year despite his strikeout and walk rates remaining stable. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times feels the Mariners would need their socks knocked off to move Aardsma.

The Yankees could look to move Chad Gaudin soon, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter). In another tweet, he mentions that Clay Hensley can opt out of his contract with the Marlins if he's not on the roster by April 1st.

Jim Bowden shows off his post-trade fist pump in his latest GM's Corner video for FOX Sports. Bowden asked a slew of GMs about their processes for making deals; Frank Wren estimated that less than ten percent of discussions lead to trades.

Olney doesn't think the Mariners will pay up for Jason Bay. He believes the Red Sox are "controlling the market" for Bay and Matt Holliday.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals are "increasingly weighing spreading what it would cost to retain Holliday over several players." Bernie Miklasz of the P-D feels the Cards are "enacting their exit strategy from the Holliday sweepstakes." I would not be surprised to see the Cardinals make their best offer soon - let's say $110MM over six years – and entirely move on if Scott Boras rejects it.

SI's Jon Heyman tweets that Nick Johnson is "drawing interest from the Giants, maybe Braves, and a half-dozen more."

MLB.com's Corey Brock talked to former Padres GM Kevin Towers, who will meet with the Mets, Yankees, Mariners, and Red Sox at the Winter Meetings.

ESPN's Keith Law isn't impressed with the Phillies' Placido Polanco signing. My initial impression upon hearing about the signing is that no other team would've valued Polanco that highly.

MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that other teams have been more aggressive on Jamey Carroll than the Marlins. Other Carroll suitors include the Rockies, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, A's, Rangers, Pirates, Reds and Indians.

Reliever Heath Bell says talks on a multiyear deal didn’t get very far and he’s content using the arbitration process for the first time. Bell stands to earn a million or two in ’09.

The Reds are interested in Padres pitcher Clay Hensley. Hensley, 29, posted a 5.31 ERA in 39 big league innings. He pitched another 48 innings in Triple A. His strong groundball rate could make a nice fit for the Reds. Jeff from Cot’s Baseball Contracts told me Hensley has enough service time to qualify as a Super Two, meaning he’ll be arbitration-eligible this winter.

Tim Sullivan of the U-T says Brian Giles is the Padres’ primary offseason issue. In my opinion, it’d be embarrassingly cheap for the Padres to choose the $3MM buyout over the $9MM option.